The present invention relates to housings in general, and more particularly to component housings for electrical and electronic circuits and components.
There are already known various constructions of component housings for electronic circuits and components, among them such which basically consist of a frame which constitutes respective narrow sides of the component housing, and of two lateral covering plates which close the open sides of the frame and are arrestingly connected to the frame. The frame is usually provided at least in one of the narrow sides with a plurality of openings for the selective passage therethrough of various elements employed in accordance with diverse connecting techniques for the components and electrical circuits accommodated in the interior of the component housing. These openings may include, for instance, circular holes which provide for access to clamping screws of clamping yoke connecting arrangements situated in the interior of the component housing and/or passage slots serving for the passage therethrough of lug-shaped connectors, especially flat plug-in lug connectors and/or soldering lugs, between the interior and the exterior of the component housing, so that such connecting elements then project outwardly beyond the one narrow side of the frame. There may further be provided at least one additional opening for the passage therethrough of an electronic component or module which is at least partially situated at the exterior of the component housing and which is connected in the interior of the component housing, for instance, to a printed circuit board. Such known component housings are often additionally provided or connected at another narrow side thereof which is situated opposite to the one narrow side with an arresting foot, so that they can be arranged in a row on and arrestingly connected with a standardized rail.
With the increasing popularity and widening range of application of the component housings of the above type, even as far as the voltage range of the electrical and electronic components is concerned, there is encountered the problem of contact protection at least for the otherwise exposed lug-shaped connectors projecting outwardly of the component housing through the openings provided therefor in the aforementioned one narrow side of the frame. This potential problem has not yet been fully satisfactorily solved.